Electronic messaging has become commonplace with the widespread use of computing devices, such as mobile computing devices. Device users have become accustomed to utilizing text messages, emails, instant messages, and other forms of electronic messages to communicate with each other. For example, users now send and receive messages using any number of electronic messaging and other electronic messaging systems (e.g., by way of electronic messaging and other electronic messaging applications running on or accessed using smart phones or other mobile devices). In order to send such a message, a first user generally selects a desired application and enters text and/or other media (e.g., photos, videos, EMOJIs, audio clips, etc.) to send to a second user. The second user can then respond using a corresponding mobile application running on a computing device of the second user.
Existing messaging applications and systems, however, rarely provide much of a sense of one another's presence in the conversation when the first user and second user are messaging each other. For example, existing applications often present indications of when messages are delivered and read, but provide no additional indication of other users' presence in the conversation. Additionally, existing applications generally give no indication of a user's activity in composing a message beyond merely indicating whether he or she has started to compose or is composing the message. Accordingly, a user typically has no way of knowing to what extent others are participating in the conversation. To illustrate, conventional messaging applications provide communicating users very little indication regarding the users' messaging on their respective user devices. This can result in confusion when, for example, two or more users send messages simultaneously or start to “talk over” one another within a conversation. Moreover, a user may waste time waiting around for a response mistakenly believing that another user is actively composing a message.
Thus, there are several disadvantages with regard to conventional electronic messaging methods and systems.